Nokia working on an aluminum body for the Lumia line?

In planning for the next round of Windows Phones, indications are strong that Nokia is working on an aluminum body for a high end Lumia model.

Codenamed Catwalk, the aluminum Lumia will be lighter and thinner than the current crop of polycarbonate bodied Lumias. The Catwalk would replace the Lumia 920 as Nokia's centerpiece Windows Phone.

No word on hardware specs or when we might see the Catwalk beyond "later this year". Catwalk is sure to be a hot topic of discussion next week at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. We'll be in attendance at CES and if we hear more on the new aluminum Lumia, we'll pass it on.

Great question. I have my doubts whether they can put the colors in the aluminum like they did with the polycarbonate. I really want a red one, but not at the price of it looking scratched up after a few months.

they did the color thing with the N8 earlier which had an aluminium casing and from what i've heard is that only the plastic end caps(top and bottom) were a bit scratch prone otherwise the whole body was of good quality but still it might not have that same polycarbonate quality in which color is integral to the casing.

Lol, chill. You got the phone cause you liked it. Not cause it was the best high end phone. Let them make more phones 100x better than yours. If yours works good for you, you dont need a new phone everytime a better one comes out.

Nope you're not the only one. From a former 900 user, whom is now a 920 owner, I hate hearing about this kind of thing. Especially, like you said, after just locking into a 2yr agreement! But it is what it is.

Nah, it's not just you. It is indeed bothersome being locked into a contract because one cannot afford an unlocked phone. The way to get past this is to feel good that when your contract is up you'll have a chance at locking yourself into another contract with a (hopefully) GREAT phone ;-)

I always laugh when people say "hate is a strong word". I'll say "I love chocolate but I hate white chocolate". It's a substitute for "dislike" and doesn't mean I have a seething, burning rage over it :P

It's always going to happen. It's going to keep happening.
Buy something that you're happy with and upgrade when you are ready.
It will be another 2 yrs before I upgrade both my wife and I to new phones. Until then, I am excited to see the growth and diversity for WP.

Personally, I'm glad to hear talk about the next-generation of Lumia devices. Would I be mildly annoyed that my L920 was no longer the latest and greatest? Maybe a tiny bit. But I think it's more important for Nokia and WP8 platform to keep making progress.

Consider it an "Early Adopter Tax". You pay a few extra bucks to have the latest and greatest. You'll be able to sell it for $200 - $300 and it'll cost you around the same to get out of the contract. Not a bad deal so cheer up. You're carrying the best hardware for WP and it'll only cost you $100 net to get into the newest.

Ha ha...yeah, it's the frustrating life of a technology fan. :) This time around, it won't be as shocking at the 900 to 920 shift. This one will hopefully come in around the 1 year anniversary of the 920. Then you can bug your carrier 6 months after for an early upgrade or hold out for the next wave.
This is just rumors and insider reports. The 920 was an official announcement just a few months after the 900 was released. I think a refreshed flagship every 12 months is reasonable. I just hope MICROSOFT doesn't lock us into an older OS where we can't buy newer apps. The 920's and 8X's Ativ's of the world should be upgradeable next year.

i was locked into a contract with the 900, heard i want getting the update and was determined to get the 920, payed for it out of pocket so even if the new phone comes out late next year i still have my upgrade :D so im not too upset.

Although I just purchased a brand new Lumia 900 last month, I would definitely be interested in an Aluminum Lumia. I have a blue N8 and the aluminum body is great - great feel,superb reception, great looking! Dropped it a couple of times, but only a small chip on the raised screen perimeter. The 'machined' Nokia logo etched on the back is a very classy touch as well.

I know what you are saying but my friend has a 8x with a hairline crack in the back of his phone after he dropped it. Doubt that would happen with a Lumia. Don't get me wrong, I like the 8x but I think Nokia has always taken durability serious.

Is it me being used to my Lumia 900 but, I don't find the Lumia 920 as heavy or uncomfortable to hold as reviewers say. Maybe, they need to go to the gym and do some strength training or stop whining altogether.

I think the current polycarbonate body makes the colors of the 920 pop. I think you will lose that with a aluminum body. If its 5 inches I'll gladly pay an early upgrade fee on my 920 I got in November.

I gave up on the 920 for now. Waiting to hear what's next for Windows Phone and Nokia during MWC in February. If it's nothing new or interesting, then hopefully there'll be more stock of the yellow or cyan 920s at that point.

I hope Nokia is paying as much attention the rollout as they are to the hardward.

First, they need to limit leaks about the new design or new features until they are ready to release. If they allow persistent chatter about "what's next" then they risk having folks simply wait it out, which is bad for WP8 adoption.

Second, the release itself needs to be much tighter. This is one area where Apple really gets it right. They don't go out on stage, demo their latest product, extol all its virtues, get the fan-base all hyped up then say "details on pricing and availability TBD; check back next month". Talk about letting the air out of the balloon.... Nokia can't "announce" it, then "release" it 30-45 days later, then "ship" products 60-90 days later.

Microsoft at least got it half right (or a third right) with the Surface- they had that super-secret announcement event that got everyone instantly and excitedly talking about the product. But then of course they dropped the ball by not having concrete pricing or availability details. And then actually kicked the ball by releasing RT and Pro at different times, in staggered distribution, and without a marketing strategy designed to clearly explain to consumers the difference.

Interesting.
I don't really care if it's Aluminium or polycarbonate, as long as the next Lumias are again smaller. The L920 is way too big which makes it uglier when compared with the L800. If I want a giant screen, I get myself a Tablet.
Lets see what Nokia will come up with next...

(and please Lord, make this the Lumia that finally comes with Android...)

Debunked by whom? WPCentral? That's not debunking. Are you a CEO at Nokia or Microsoft? No? Well, then you can't assure Nokia or Microsoft will keep that exclusive partnership.
Actually, if Microsoft produces the Surface Phone and Nokia a Tablet, I can very well see that partnership going down the drain.
So until then, everyone can keep praying for Nokia to find an OS provider other than Microsoft. It's a question of time before the markets destroy the partnership. Or Nokia. One of them will be dead in the end.

(I just hope it's not Nokia, 'cause I, like all the people I know who bought a WP (which are 2 other people) only bought it because it was a Nokia phone and not because it was a Windows Phone. And lets say, out of the 3, 2 of us are so happy that we aren't even considering giving WP8 a chance. The other one hasn't decided yet.)

If it comes out this fall and fixes some of the issues I have with the 920, I'll get it. I still have my L800 so I can sell the 920 a month or two before release if catwalk. Buy Catwalk for hopefully a similar price as the 920 was off contract and only spend $100-150. And if the Catwalk phone is on par with the things I liked about the 800, I'll sell the 800 too.

Hopefully they really improve that 920 because overall I'm a little disappointed with it.

Another thing Nokia can't forget is that their presentation was p!$$ poor... it was very boring. If people like Jo Harlow must have something to do with the launch... create and edit a slick Video presentation for them.... let the better & more confident speakers on stage. The launch is like a 'love at first sight' thing, don't put ppl off by boring em 2 death.

The next generation Lumia will finally be a design made for Windows 8 (takes around 18 months) - The current design is adapted from the meego N9 - It was perfectly suited to the Lumia 800... but not as well to the larger models.